| Sam A. Baker State Park | |
| Missouri State Park | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Missouri |
| County | Wayne County |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 8.3 sq mi (21 km2) |
| Founded | 1926 |
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| Website: http://mostateparks.com/baker.htm | |
Sam A. Baker State Park is located in the Saint Francois Mountain region of the Missouri Ozarks. The 5,323-acre (21.54 km2) park offers access to the St. Francis River and Big Creek for fishing, canoeing, and swimming. The park has 187 campsites, half of them electric, and 18 rustic but air-conditioned cabins. A separate campground with 21 sites is available for use by equestrians.
The 14-mile (23 km) Mudlick Trail is available for hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding. The Mudlick has three stone shelters available for backpackers, and views of the 4,420-acre (17.9 km2) Mudlick Mountain Wild Area and the 1,370-acre (5.5 km2) Mudlick Natural Area. There is also the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Shut-Ins Trail, the Hollow Pass Trail, and the nearby Wappapello Section of the Ozark Trail. The park also has a 2-mile (3.2 km) paved bicycle trail open to cyclists, hikers, skateboarders and roller skaters.
The park has a stone dining lodge that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC also built most of the park's lodging cabins and the backpacking shelters on the Mudlick Trail.
The park was acquired in 1926 and is named for past Missouri governor Sam Aaron Baker who encouraged the development of the park in his home county.